Reviews, Reviews, and More Reviews!

Menu

Soundbar: Bose SoundTouch 300

I was quite excited to try the Bose SoundTouch 300 soundbar. I set it up in my rec room, replacing an older AV Receiver with large floor-standing Yamaha speakers. The setup I had was good but very bulky. The Bose is svelte by comparison, but it packs a serious punch.

First and foremost with Bose is the sound quality. The SoundTouch 300 carries on the Bose tradition of impressively detailed and clear sound. There was virtually no distortion at any volume level. Moreover, the soundbar by itself had an excellent bass response. And, of course, it does an excellent job of casting the sound in a field such that it nicely simulates surround sound. I am sometimes still surprised when I realize this soundbar in front of me is making noise behind me. Pretty impressive.

Moreover, it includes Bluetooth with NFC and pairs easily with BT devices to allow video and music playback. You could also use Bose’s Wi-Fi solution, which supports music from a variety of sources. My teenage son was ecstatic he could tap his phone against the SoundTouch and immediately begin streaming his music through the system. You can also use the BT feature to connect a host of other Bose devices to the SoundTouch, so you can have a connected sound system in multiple rooms.

The sound was great, but my son was even more happy when I connected the Bose Acoustimass 300. I don’t blame him; the subwoofer makes a huge difference.

My only complaint about the sound is that the voices seem a little thin by comparison to a dedicated center channel speaker. I tend to need the volume higher with the SoundTouch 300 to hear dialogue than I did with my old system. That can be a little annoying, depending on what I’m watching and how loud everything else is by comparison.

NOTE – the best connection is via an HDMI ARC port. This is not your standard HDMI port. ARC stands for Audio Return Channel. The ARC port will allow all sound going through the television to flow out through the soundbar. If you do not have an ARC port, you can use the digital audio out or a standard HDMI connection, but the ARC port has more functionality. If you don’t have an HDMI ARC port on your television, you may be limited in the number of devices connected to your television that will play through the soundbar.
Setup was quick and easy. The system includes a wireless multi-function remote and a wired headset to optimize the soundfield. The optimization process is fairly simple and takes just a few minutes.

Pairing with the Acoustimass 300 was quick and simple and added a massive bass presence.

The soundbar looks very impressive. It is a large soundbar, so it may not look great with a smaller television. But it looked excellent paired with the 65″ Samsung in our rec room. The glass top is quite lovely. The only negative is that there are not many ports on the SoundTouch 300.

Pros:

Clear, room-filling sound.

Great look.

Cons:

Few ports.

Center channel voice sound is thin.

HDMI ARC is best connection, but not the standard on many TVs.

Overall, I give the Bose SoundTouch 300 a very high “buy it” rating if you have any interest in a mult-talented soundbar.

Final: Like

Note, this soundbar was provided to me free of charge for review by Best Buy and Bose.